Chiaroscuro
by abstractXromance
Summary: Sora realizes it's time for a change. He flees the country to study abroad in England where he meets Riku. Could it be love...or something else? RikuSora slight Akuroku
1. Chapter 1

I tried something a little different with this story. I don't know. I like it, I think. I'll update when I have time, or skip class. My life is beyond hectic at the moment.

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_Chiaroscuro_

_Book One_

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Chapter One: The Past

This is a story about a boy. He is the age of a man, but has so much room to grow. Let us just call him a boy for the purpose storytelling.

The boy grew up in a quite town. Not too big, not too small -- just enough to do to keep any child busy.

The boy played with the children on his block. Somehow, he was always the only boy present in his group of friends.

So, the boy spent his afternoons playing Barbies and house with girls. He didn't mind it much. Actually, he found the girls quite entertaining.

As the boy grew, he noticed he was different from everyone else. The boy was friends with girls while most boys his age thought girls were disgusting.

Even as the boy grew into that awkward stage where puberty takes over, he still found himself different from the rest.

The boy didn't _like_ girls. He just liked being around them. He liked to confide in them. They were his friends.

As the boy grew, he started to hang out with boys. He missed the company of girls. He longed for their friendship.

Over time, however, people grow on you. You learn to deal with their presences, and sometimes even befriend those whom you used to dislike. Tolerance eventually crosses the fine line and becomes friendship.

When the boy reached high school, he still hadn't had a girlfriend. Most boys his age had been "dating" for years, but our boy was abstinent from the world of dating.

It's not that he didn't want to date; it's just that he hadn't found anyone worth dating.

Finally, the boy found a nice girl to date. They were happy together. They talked all the time and made each other laugh--for a whole seven days.

After his first break-up, the boy was done with dating. You see, the heartache associated with any form of breaking up hurt the boy deep down. He hated rejection. He hated not being loved in return. He hated being told he wasn't liked. It wasn't worth it to be hurt so many times. So, the boy stopped dating. He would wait for "the one."

His junior year of high school he met a boy named Seifer. The boy knew Seifer was different from the rest of his boy friends. He connected with Seifer. He wanted to be with Seifer all the time.

He _liked_ Seifer.

Luckily for the boy, Seifer _liked_ him back. The boy was hesitant to start a relationship, so he opted for a few dates here and there until he knew Seifer was the one.

The boy waited for what seemed like ever to say 'I love you.' He wanted it to be special. When Seifer finally said, "I love you." The boy was ready.

The next few months were the best the boy had ever experienced. Seifer made the boy feel special. He made the boy feel loved.

One day the boy found Seifer's journal online. Sure, Seifer had many journals, but the boy hadn't checked this one in a while. In fact, he had forgotten about this journal all together.

So the boy read.

What the boy read broke his heart. Seifer had found a new boy in the city. Seifer had cheated on the boy. Seifer had broken the boy's heart beyond repair.

So, the boy swore off other boys. He found himself a nice girl and settled down. Well, settled down as much as one settles at the tender age of 17.

The boy stayed with the girl even as he started college. The girl was still in high school, but the boy didn't care.

Two and a half years passed. The boy continued college, and the girl continued high school.

The boy had found someone who loved him. The boy had found security. The boy thought he was happy.

The boy's name is Sora Hayashi.

This is his story.

Chapter Two: Just Another Night

"Hurry! We're going to be late," the sound of Kairi's voice echoed through Sora's mind.

He held the phone away from his ear. He didn't need someone to tell him about the time, he was fully aware he was going to be late. "There were protesters blocking the bus stop. I already told you that. I'll be there soon, bye!"

Sora snapped his phone closed. Kairi had gotten on his last nerve. Sora had spent the entire day at the university. Class proved to him that he couldn't write and going home proved to him that he wasn't appreciated.

He ran around his house grabbing CDs and changing his shirt. Tonight there was a show. A show he didn't really want to go to, but Kairi did, and since Kairi couldn't drive, he offered to take her.

So, the boy got into his grandma's car. His had died the week earlier. He started the car and his journey to Kairi's house.

He always had music playing while driving to Kairi's but never did the songs reach his ears. The boy sat and thought.

He was a junior magazine journalism major at Kent State University. Only a few semesters left until freedom, but that freedom seemed to be moving far away. The boy was burdened with homework and stories. He wasn't happy, and no one, not even Kairi, seemed to care.

The boy pulled into her driveway and pulled out a book. He had to have it read and a short paper done by tomorrow. He already knew he would skip class in the morning to finish it. He sighed as the words on the pages filled his mind.

_Knock knock knock, _the sound of Selphie banging on the driver's side window snapped Sora out of the imaginary land the book had created. He rolled his eyes and unlocked the doors.

The two girls climbed in the car. Sora looked at Kairi in the passenger seat. She didn't kiss him hello. It bothered Sora that she didn't kiss him, but he wouldn't tell her that. He wanted Kairi to figure it out for herself.

You see, it's the little things that get you down deep. The little things that drive you insane. The little things that cause you to take a stance.

The little things are what cause change.

So the boy drove. The drive to Cleveland was a long one, partially because he didn't know the way well, partially because he knew he had other things to be doing.

As the three entered the outskirts of the city, Kairi grew antsy.

"We're lost. I have to pee. I wasted so much money going to this concert," Kairi's complaints seemed to never end.

"Well, maybe if you told Sora the correct way to go, we wouldn't be in bum fuck nowhere," Selphie said.

All Sora wanted to do was scream. He wanted to scream at his ungrateful girlfriend for not seeing how much her words hurt him. He was giving up sleep and homework to be with her tonight. He would miss classes that he should be going to just to make her happy.

And here was Kair, simply wasting money.

The small venue was one of Sora's favorites. The walls of the Grog Shop told a story. Covered with writing, stickers and pictures: the walls showed concertgoers the venue's history.

It was a small crowd that night; perfect for a small venue. Sora, Selphie and Kairi crowded around an amp near the stage. Selphie stood between Sora and Kairi. Lately, that's how it's been: Selphie in the middle.

Sora noticed that his and Kairi's light was fading. He kept holding on to her, because two and a half years is a long time to waste on a relationship. He wanted to be with her. He didn't want to hurt. So he dealt with the things Kairi was doing to him.

The music blared through the venue. The three frequently found themselves in the mosh pit, hitting, pushing and elbowing everyone in sight. But those times where Sora found himself next to Kairi, were the ones that hurt the most.

Words were hard to understand over the bass and guitar, so he would try to hold his girlfriend. He wanted, no needed, to feel her close. Kairi would just smile and bat him away. She wasn't trying to hurt him, but every time she would smile and kiss his cheek instead of his lips, a knife went through Sora's heart.

Sora lead Kairi and Selphie out of the Grog Shop and onto the streets of Cleveland.

She didn't hold his hand.

Chapter Three: The beginning of something different

Alarm clocks are a horrible invention. Everyone reading this must agree. The noise they make is the perfect tone to wake you up in the most horrible of ways. Not to mention, alarm clocks bring us out of dreams, and sometimes dreams are better than reality.

Sora, luckily, woke up before his alarm went off. He had skipped his first two classes, like planned.

Hands hunted for the book he needed to read for class. His mind was ready to let go of reality and fall into an author's make-believe world.

He held the book close to his chest. The last few words on its pages had brought tears to his eyes. Happy endings always did that to him, even if it _was_ a children's book he was reading.

Sora should have picked up his geography book and started studying. He should have never reached for his laptop and got online.

Patience is truly a virtue. Anyone who tells you different is wrong. Remember that.

If Sora had waited until his emotions had subsided, he probably wouldn't have gotten as worked up over what he found.

Sora was an aspiring journalist. He had a few positions with newspapers and magazines on campus. The boy could write. No one had ever told him otherwise.

The class he was in, print beat reporting, was tearing him apart. All the confidence in his writing was evaporating every time his editor didn't publish his story. Even though Sora had columns published every week, he wanted his stories published. He worked hard on them.

So, Sora logged on to KentNewsNet. He typed his name into the search bar. The screen loaded.

"What the fucking hell!?" Sora pushed his laptop from his lap.

His story wasn't published. He had worked for weeks on that story. He had been late to work for that story. And it wasn't published.

His eye began to twitch. It was the final straw. Between Kairi, class, work and his writing, he was done. Done with Ohio. Done with school. Done with it.

The mouse clicked "compose" and he began. He began the steps that would forever change his life, and he knew it. He knew with every word he typed he was losing all the ties to this life. Finally, he was breaking free.

He clicked "send," and it was over. Sora had sent his application to the Leicester University in England, and he would be dammed it he didn't get accepted.

Chapter Four: Closing the door.

One month later, Sora sat with Kairi on his twin bed. She had chosen _Resident Evil 2_ to watch.

Certain things he loved about Kairi. She loved video games and crappy horror movies. They could talk at any point in the day. Her smile was amazing. Her kisses were infectious. And the sex was to die for.

Please know, that no matter what anyone tells you, sex is important. No matter what a girl says, size does matter. That's just how it is.

If you have had sex, you know what I'm talking about. Sex is wonderful. It's magical. It makes you feel like you've never felt before. It takes you somewhere else, where nothing matters but the way you feel. The only person there is your partner. It's amazing.

If you haven't had sex, I suggest you try it before you put down those who have.

This particular day was an important day for Sora. He had to tell Kairi he was accepted. Not only did he have to tell her of his acceptance, he had to tell her he had applied. And before he told her he had applied, he had to tell her why he clicked "send" that day not so long ago.

He had to end their relationship.

So now, I bring you the first real conversation of this boy's story. At least, the first conversation that has meant anything thus far. Note the pain, note the hurt, but most of all, note Sora's need for change.

Sora's hand moved from around Kairi to the floor. His attention diverted from the movie to a piece of paper. Kairi noticed this change.

"What are you doing?" Kairi rolled to her side and put an arm around the boy.

He pushed the arm off of himself and sat up. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Sora could have handed her the acceptance letter and let her find out on her own, but he owed her more than that. He owed her and explanation. He knew his words would hurt her, but they needed to be said. Down inside, Sora was a good person--a good person who knew what he had to do.

"I'm not getting published enough here. I'm putting in more effort and not seeing results,' Sora paused for air.

"I've noticed," Kairi sat up next to the boy. "You've been pretty upset about that for a while."

"Yeah, well, I've been upset about a lot of things," Sora turned to look the girl in the eye. Sure, Kairi hadn't directly done anything wrong, but it's the little things. Remember the discussion on little things? Well, he was done with little things; he was ready for big changes.

"You don't hold my hand. You don't kiss me in public. You bitch about things I do for you. You're not forgiving. You ignore me. I'm done with it, Kairi. I'm moving on and starting over," Sora stated as he handed her the letter. He didn't cry, smile, frown, shout, laugh, snort, cough, exclaim, whisper or yell—he simply stated the end of their relationship.

You can't argue with a statement.

Kairi's eyes filled with tears. The girl hadn't expected her actions to hurt Sora.

The truth is, she was changing. When you date someone for so long at a young age, someone is bound to change. Sora and Karir both had changed. Their relationship could have gone on for a few more years, but ultimately, it would have ended. It was just a matter of time.

It wasn't entirely her fault she had hurt Sora. People change. Change hurts. It's a vicious circle.

"Okay," was all she could say. She couldn't argue. They had broken up earlier that year. She told him the next break up would be their last. "This is what you want."

"Yes. It is," Sora said. "We're still friends. I'll still call you. I'll still love you. But, Kairi, I must move on. I need to get the fuck out of here."

And the boy did just that.

Chapter Five: Opening a new path

Sora held his carryon close to his chest as his parents hugged and kissed him. His parents knew they had to let go. Their son was 20. It was time to let go.

"We love you," his dad said as he patted Sora's shoulder.

Sora smiled to his father, "I love you guys, too. I'm not, like, disappearing. Just going away for a semester. I'll be back in June."

Sora's mom knew better. She knew that Sora had the same traveling gene as she. Her whole life she was waiting for the day she could escape America and explore everywhere else. She knew once Sora saw the ocean, England, Europe he would be gone.

"We'll miss you," she smiled through her tears. "Call and write."

"Everyday," Sora said. He gave his mom and dad one last embrace. Then he was off.

Airport security: what a waste. A full 40 minutes later, Sora had taken off and put his shoes back on, been searched three times and had his luggage sniffed by drug dogs. He was ready for the long trip across the Atlantic. He was ready for a nap.

The flight attendants went through the usual motions, showing the exits and bathrooms. By the time they were done, Sora was asleep.

Dreams are little glimpses of feelings and reality. They're important. They mean something. What that something is, is found out in time….

Sora laid on a bed surrounded by stuffed animals. It reminded him of Kairi's bedroom. A tear formed at his cheek at the thought of the girl he had left.

_Rolling over, Sora saw that the bed wasn't in Kairi's room, but in the middle of London. Sora's eyes grew at the site of thousands of people wondering the streets. He could see Big Ben off in the distance._

_As he stepped from the bed to the street, he was suddenly on a Double Decker bus. Standing on the top deck, he held onto the railing for his life._

_The bus was traveling at remarkable speeds for such an un-aerodynamic machine. Sora looked around and instead of seeing England's cityscapes and suburbs, he saw his memories flashing by. Thousands of tiny memories: walking down the hallway at age six, eating cheesecake at age nine, sleeping with Kairi at age 17. All the memories were in front of him._

_One scene was unfamiliar. Sora reached over the bus to try to be a part of this new scene. _

_There stood a castle, surrounded by trees and gardens. It was dark, but a small light shown in on of the castle's many windows. _

_Sora felt a longing for that light. Even though the darkness was easier to reach, he wanted to touch the light. He was momentarily obsessed with it._

Turbulence woke Sora from his dream. He looked out the window. His eyes took in the sight of the sun rising from the horizon line shining on the ocean.

That, my friend, is true beauty.

Many hours later, the plane descended upon London. Leicester was a ways out of the city. His journey there is not what's important, but what he found in the university is.

British colleges are different from those in America. Students don't live with roommates. Almost all of them live by themselves in dorm rooms. Sora, being from America, wanted a roommate. He wanted social interaction.

Sora was the first exchange student in his residence hall to arrive. He was told his roommate was a native, but his roommate had yet to grace the college with his presence. Sora only knew his name since it was plastered on the door.

"Roxas," Sora muttered. "Sounds like a chic's name."

He tried to open his door, but it was definitely locked. Sora banged his head on the door. _What a perfect way to start my new college career, _he thought.

If the door had opened, some other American would have had the pleasure of spotting him. If Sora had remembered to sign in and get his key, this story would be in vain.

But, he didn't. You see, Sora was the first of the exchange students to meet their RA. He was the first to see _him_.

"Someone need a key?"

Sora turned around and his breath was taken away. "I..I..Yes," Sora said to the sexiest man he had ever seen. Sora's heart rate sped up as his mind slowed down, taking in the site that lay before him.

The man laughed, "I'll let it slide this time. Next time, it'll cost you." The man winked at Sora.

Sora nodded as the man opened his door. "Thanks," Sora said quietly.

"No prob. Name's Riku. I'm your RA," the man named Riku said. He reached out a hand to the boy.

"Sora," he said as he shook the hand in front of him.

"Nice to meet you," Riku smiled. His smile was what sealed the deal. Sora was automatically addicted to that smile. The green eyes and long silver hair only added to Riku's perfect smile.

"Floor meeting at 8 tonight. See ya then," Riku waved and exited the room.

Sora stood in his new dorm thinking about the man he had just seen. The boy hadn't looked at his room. He didn't even know if he had his own bathroom.

All Sora knew was that after seeing Riku, girls were out of the question. After seeing Riku, all the pain of the past melted away.

End of Book One

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Hope you enjoyed the intro. More to come.

--Sarah-Emily


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter took forever. It was all in a notebook...and I had to type it. Sucked..

I will be writing a whole hell of a lot more now that school is out for a month...

Boys suck, for the record. My life is a living hell, but at least I have writing. And will have a Macbook Pro soon.

Btw, I'm cowriting Breakdown with Katraa. Go read it, now!!!

**Book 2**

**Chapter 1: Beginning's End**

Sora checked his watch. It was only 3:00 p.m. He had hours before he had to be anywhere. The old Sora lived for moments where life moved slowly and there was time to spare. This new Sora just wanted to speed up time. Sora wanted his roommate to finish the signing in process so he wouldn't be alone.

He took his time alone to unpack his life. He had a dolly full off bedding, computer games, toiletries, clothing and memories to find places for. He sighed as he took out his laptop and placed it on his desk.

Memories of when he had spent a year at a small private college came flooding back. The school was in the middle of nowhere. Small enough so that everyone was in your business.

Sora remembered Kairi holding his hand in the back seat of his mom's car the day he left for college. He remembered his father riding in the truck in front of them with his neighbor.

A sigh passed through his lips as he plugged in his laptop. At the other college, he couldn't get the damn thing hooked onto the Internet. He remember Kairi almost crying because she wouldn't be able to talk to him online until he got the money to buy an Ethernet cable.

Boxes of clothes occupied most of Sora's bed. Hands flipped through T-shirts and jeans. Another memory shot through his mind...

As Sora folded his shirts into his drawer, his mother and Kairi promised him it would be OK. They promised that he would fit in and find new friends. Kairi promised she would always be there.

It's funny how memories can be so vivid at time. They can spark emotions that feel so real, but really you're just feeling the effects of the past. The crying or happiness is really just an extension of past feelings. Memories are old, and so are the feelings associated with them.

A tear slid off his face onto the shirt in his hand. He hadn't realized he had been crying until then. He hurriedly tucked the shirt into a drawer and sat on his bed. Well, he didn't know for sure if it would be his bed, but since this "Roxas" was no where to be found, he guessed it would be OK.

He tried to keep his mind off of all the things that were going on. He tried to remember this change was for the best.

Then his mind wondered to Riku. A smile found its way to Sora's lips. Even if he had no chance with the man, at least Sora had finally found someone to crush on. Crushing is a very important part of the healing process.

The boy had been broken up with Kairi for at least three months, and he still hadn't found anyone remotely attractive back home to take her place. He figured it was because he wasn't looking hard enough, but truth be told, he wasn't over Kairi.

No matter what he did, or how much he thought about others, his mind was taken back to the place it was most comfortable: in Kairi's arms.

Just as he was about to give up on his roommate and sleep until the hall meeting, he heard laughing outside the door. Sora jolted up and grabbed a book from his bag, he didn't want his roommate to think he had nothing better to do than wait for him.

Sora took a deep breath in as the dorm opened. _Please don't be a creepy goth kid, please don't be a creepy goth kid,_ he recited over and over in his head. The door slowly opened and into the room stepped a boy of medium stature with spiked blond hair wearing jeans and a black T-shirt.

"You must be Sora," the boy walked toward where Sora was sitting on his bed, putting down a backpack on the adjacent bed. "I'm Roxas." Roxas put out a hand and Sora took it for a brief shake.

Just as Sora was about to speak for the first time to his new roommate, a tall, lanky redhead came barreling into the room, dive tackling Roxas to the ground.

"And, I'm Axel," the man said as he stood. "Roxas' boyfriend."

"What the hell!?" Roxas stood up pretending to brush something off of his pants. "I was going to introduce you." He stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend. "Sorry, he's always like this."

Finally, Sora got the opportunity to speak to his new roommate, probably new **roommates** given the current situation. He opened his mouth and out came, "Have you met our RA?" Not, nice to meet you or no, I don't have a problem with your lifestyle. Nothing productive, just 'hey, have you seen that incredibly sexy man that we get to live with?'

"Riku?" Axel laughed. "You think he's hot, don't you?"

"I..uhh..I...," Sora mentally smacked himself.

"Stop it!" Roxas playfully smacked Axel and gave his attention to Sora. "Axel and Riku are best friends. Don't mind him. So, you're from the U.S. right?"

Sora shook his head, happy to get off the subject of Riku. "No, I'm from Canada. We moved to Ohio when I was nine."

Axel's attention span had already faltered. "Well, I'm going to leave you two alone. I don't need to hear about Canada or Sora's sex life." Axel moved over to the blond and attacked his lips with his own. "I'll be by around 6 for dinner," the redhead smiled as he looked to Sora, "with Riku." The man laughed as he exited the dorm room.

"Sorry about that," Roxas scratched the back of his head. "He's an ass."

Sora laughed, "It's all good. So, where are you from?"

"Originally, Buffalo, New York," Roxas pulled in his own dolly from the hall as he continued to explain. "My mom moved here after the divorce when I was 13. I decided to go to college here so I could see her."

"That's...sweet," Sora chuckled.

Roxas pulled a pillow off the dolly and threw it at Sora. "Hey now, I love my family."

"And you and Axel, how long have you been together?" Sora wanted to know who could stand that man for any extended period of time.

"Two years. We started dating the semester I got over here," Roxas smiled. "He's not as bad a guy as he seems." Sora nodded. "What about you? Anyone back in Ohio?"

Sora took a deep breath, "No. We broke up before I came here."

"Sorry," Roxas had never been good with sympathy.

"Don't be," Sora smiled. "I'm not.

**Chapter 2: Time to Waste**

In the three hours before dinner, Roxas and Sora had set up a loft, a futon, their computers and laptops, gaming systems and unpacked clothing, books and random accessories. Sora stood in the middle of his dorm room with a satisfied look on his face. He now had a home away from home.

Sora never felt at home at the first college he had attended. Everyone was so different from him, except for his roommate. But what kind of college experience is that? Hanging out with one guy all day, every day. So he had left that college to get lost in Kent State's massive amount of students.

Roxas and Sora sat on their futon watching a season of the Chapelle show. They laughed together and caught each other up on life.

In a little less than two and a half hours, Sora had made a friend. Roxas now knew things that no one else knew and vice versa.

Friends are the people who understand you. Friends are the people who will sit around and watch reruns with you when you just need someone around. Friends are the people you have fun with no matter what the situation. Friends are the people who know everything about you and you don't feel awkward calling them.

Do not confuse the term friend with acquaintance.

Sora was curled in a ball, about to take a nap due to jet lag when the door to the dorm room burst open.

"I'm baaaack!" Axel said with a smile. "And I brought a friend!" He looked to Sora and winked.

Sora pulled a blanket over his head, just for Axel to come rip it off. Sora looked up and his eye's met aquamarine.

Sora was going to say hello. He was going to be a human being an interact with Riku, but one site of the beautiful man, and he was speechless.

"Hey, you're the guy that forgot his key?" Riku chuckled and held out a hand, which Sora took and shook. His fingers not wanting to stop touching those of Riku's. "Looks like we're going to be seeing a lot of each other."

Sora smiled. He didn't speak. He just smiled up at Riku while mentally smacking himself for being an idiot.

Roxas had taken this as his cue to break the silence, "So...dinner?"

"Yes, please," Sora whispered.

So all four college students walked from the dorm to the dinning hall. Sora's eyes widened as he gazed upon the new country. He had never been over seas. Sure, Leicester looked like any other college campus, but it was different somehow.

As Sora continued to take in the sights and smells of this new environment, Axel, Riku and Roxas talked a mile a minute about their Christmas break.

All Sora understood from their ramblings was that Roxas had went back to the U.S., Axel had stayed in London, where he was from, and Riku had flown back to Japan.

Axel was discussing how Sora's first English meal should not be from their shitty dinning hall when Sora finally found his voice, "Wait, Axel, you're from London?"

"Damn straight. Born and raised. Why do you ask?" Axel said.

"You don't have an accent." It seemed odd to Sora that he had traveled all the way to England and two-thirds of his friends weren't even from the country while the only native spoke like an American.

"My dad's from America," Axel explained. "I try to talk like him. I don't want to be like these kids over here all 'Cheerio' and 'Ello' govn'a' and shit."

"Right..." Sora laughed at Axel impersonation.

Roxas noticed that Sora still hadn't actually spoke to Riku. Even though Sora wouldn't tell Roxas what he thought about their RA back in the dorm, something told Roxas from Sora's body language that he was being shy for a reason.

Body language says a lot about a person. Sometimes, it speaks louder than words. Whether it's nervousness around someone or throwing yourself at a person, it means something.

As the four entered the dinning hall, got their food and found a table to sit at, Roxas developed a plan. He decided that it would be a good idea for Sora to sit by Riku. Usually, Roxas sat across from Axel and Riku, while sitting next to a friend named Cloud, but Cloud wasn't in sight.

Sora looked at the seating arrangements and sighed. He knew he needed to talk to Riku. Even if they would be just friends, he still needed to strike up a conversation.

Sora stabbed his pasta and gave conversation a whirl, "So, Riku. What's your major?"

_Way to fucking go. The most boring of questions. Jesus, I suck,_ Sora said to himself.

"Art history and business. I want to own an art gallery," Riku smiled at the brunet. Something Sora didn't see. If Sora had spent less time being embarrassed about his awkwardness around Riku, maybe he would catch on. "What about you?"

"Oh, um," Sora chewed quickly so he could speak. "Well, it was magazine journalism, but I realized I hate reporting. Now, I think I'm going to major in studio art and Japanese, so I can draw manga or something."

Roxas noticed the tie between Sora and Riku very quickly. "Riku, you should help Sora learn Japanese."

Axel squeezed Roxas' hand in agreement.

"So, Sora, you up for it?" Riku asked.

Sora nodded and smiled, hoping he didn't look like a jackass. "OK,but I should be getting back, my friend's supposed to call." It was the truth. Even though Sora had moved away, he hadn't abandoned everything. He still had his close four friends back home, and he was determined to keep them. Sora rose from the table, tray in hand.

Riku nodded, "I'll walk you back, so you don't get lost."

Axel was about to open his mouth and make a stupid remark when a roll hit him in the face. "See you soon," Roxas instead said.

**Chapter 3: Time Stands Still**

Sora never thought Riku would talk the him, let alone offer to walk the boy home. You see, Sora was a pessimist. A serious one at that. His philosophy was better to think the worst, so if the worst happens, you won't be disappointed.

This kind of thinking worked out well for the boy. He never thought he would do well in journalism, so when he ended up failing, it didn't shock him. Sora only had to decide what major he would pick to fail at next.

It's not the best idea to live your life thinking you'll always fail. It may be okay for Sora, but in reality, pessimism breaks a person down. It fucks with people's minds. It may have been fucking with Sora's min, he just had yet to realize it.

Sora walked out of the dinning hall, suddenly realizing he had only eaten about five bites of his pasta. He turned to find Riku standing close behind him. He decided to starve rather than look like an idiot. Riku took the initiative and started their journey toward the dorm.

"So...how do you like Leicester?" Riku finally asked, breaking the silence.

"So far, so good," Sora smiled at the man. "I'm pretty worn out."

Riku chuckled. "Well, jet lag will do that to you."

Another silence plagued the two. Sora only had about eight minutes alone with Riku. The dorm wasn't _that_ far away. His mind was trying to come up with anything to ask the man. The passed one dorm, then another. His time was running out.

"SoDoYouHaveAGirlfriend?" Sora asked rather quickly.

Riku stopped walking. He turned to Sora. Sora felt an extreme wave of embarrassment crash over him. Then Riku started laughing. He didn't stop laughing...Sora grew nervous.

"Sora, I've never had a girlfriend," Riku said between bouts of laughter. "I am, and always have been, gay."

Sora, still puzzled by the current situation, looked at Riku and then at the ground, "Oh..."

Riku shook his head. "It's all god. He started walking toward the last dorm. "I keep forgetting you're new here. Mostly everyone here knows my sexuality."

Another silence. This wasn't going well. Of course, first encounters hardly ever do. Sora didn't realize how well he was actually doing with the dashing young man. He never did.

"How much Japanese do you know?" Riku asked as he opened the door to Johnson Hall for Sora.

"A little," Sora said in Japanese.

"Well then," Riku said in English followed by "What about you?" in perfect Japanese.

Sora began to climb the stairs to the second floor, trying to decipher Riku's words. Finally, he formed a sentence in Japanese, "What about me do you want to know?"

Riku could sense Sora's difficulty with the language. He chose simple words and spoke slowly, still in Japanese, "Do you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend?"

_Great_, Sora thought. _I have to use past tense. _He walked to his room and begun to unlock the door, "I had a girlfriend." He paused as he opened the door. Riku followed him into the room. "We broke up." He was quite proud of his Japanese, even if it was elementary.

Riku nodded and took a seat on the futon.

Just then, Sora realized Riku probably thought he was a straight. Without taking the time to form the sentence in his head, he blurted out in Japanese, "I don't just like girls. I like boys, too. I have a boyfriend before. He was a jerk, though."

Which really sounded like, "I don't like girls just like boys. My old boyfriend before jerked me, though."

Sora didn't understand Riku's laughter at his statement. Riku decided it would be a good time to revert back to English. "You just old me your boyfriend jerked you."

A blush covered Sora's cheeks. "Not what I meant...," he said in a sheepish voice as he sat on the futon only inches from Riku's body.

"I know," Riku said.

This time, Sora wasted no time in coming up with something to say. "Want to watch a movie or something? Roxas has Family Guy on DVD..." Sora said with a smile.

"I would like that," Riku responded.

If Sora would have looked back at Riku, just once, as he grabbed Roxas' DVDs he would have seen it. He would have seen Riku's perfect smile. A smile that would have told Sora everything. Unfortunaly, Sora was just grabbing DVDs.

The brunet placed the first disk into the PS2. He press X and then sat on the futon next to Riku.

The two laughed at the political jokes and social commentary, but before long Sora grew cold and tired. Soon, the laughter died down. Sora slipped away into a dreamland and curled in a ball beside Riku.

Aquamarine eyes looked over the thin brunet. A smile crept over his face as he carefully stood. The futon was tucked under Sora's loft. Riku could tell it was Sora's by a few pictures stuck to the walls around the bed.

He smiled as he glanced at photos of a teenage Sora with two boys covered in dirt. Another photo of Sora and another boy dressed as cheerleaders made Riku chuckle. Finally, his eyes found a picutre of Sora dressed in a suit with a red headed girl at his arm. The silveret's eyes narrowed at the site of the girl He had to remind himself that Sora was single.

Suddenly remembering why he stood, Riku grabbed a comforter from the lofted bed. He sat back down on the futon and covered the boy lying next to him. It was January after all, and dorm room heat was never all that great.

As soon as the blanket touched Sora's body, the sleeping boy scooted up, placing his head on Riku's lap, probably looking for the warmth Riku offered. At first, Riku was alarmed by the gesture. They had just met, but the man soon realized Sora's continued unconscious state.

Riku smiled and gently rested an arm over Sora's body. The show went on, but all Riku could think about was the adorable brunet lying on his lap.

**Chapter 4: Finding perfection**

Sora sat looking onto a mansion. All around him trees stood where they had been for dozens of years. The grass wasn't the green it should have been, instead it was a dull brown mixed with the remembrance of pale emerald. Sora felt an odd sense of longing to be inside the marble residence.

He took his first steps toward the house, down the sidewalk with his head held high. The only thing he wanted to do was enter the building. The home emanated warmth, and Sora felt so cold. As he walked, slowly, toward the entrance a light caught one of Sora's blue eyes. A desk lamp shown down directly onto Sora. That was where the warmth was coming from. That was where Sora wanted to be.

Ocean blue eyes opened to a darkened room. The only light came from the TV that had been set to mute. Unaware of how long he had been sleeping, Sora reached for his cell phone. Sure, he couldn't use the phone overseas, but it was a good alarm clock.

8:30 p.m.

All the sudden, Sora felt very awake. The floor meeting had started at 8... "Why didn't Riku wake me up?" Sora said out loud.

"Because, you look cute when you sleep."

And there stood Riku in all of his glory, at Sora's door. Sora was fully aware that he had known the man for less than 12 hours, but that fact didn't stop his heart from having that awkward feeling. You know, the one you get when someone who you want to be close to walks in a room. Your heart swells, your eyes widen, your breathing falters. Your entire being wants that person in every meaning of the word "want."

"I..I..I'm not tired anymore," Sora lied for lack of anything else to say. "What happened at the meeting?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," Riku moved toward Sora, leaving his post at the door frame. Insane thoughts went through Sora's head. He wondered if the man would kiss him...or hug him..or just walk past him and sit on the futon...

And down went Riku, covered in a mess of Axel. Roxas entered the room, starring blankly at the two grown men, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Was that completely necessary, because I don't think it was," Roxas said.

Axel stood, smirking at his lover, "But of course it was necessary."

Riku decided it would be best to stay on the ground and pulled the comforter from the futon. "Sora and I were watching Family Guy earlier if you guys are interested."

Before the invite was finished, Axel sat on the futon, unmuting the TV. "Sounds good to me," the redhead said. "Not like we have class tomorrow."

"I never understood why if you live on campus you have to be here a day early," Roxas said as he fell into Axel's arms.

Sora wanted someone to fall into. The past few hours were enough for him to remember how much he missed Kairi, but not her exactly, just having her around. Not being alone is what Sora missed.

Riku sat, wanting Sora to sit beside him, so being the kind of guy Riku is, he pulled Sora down, causing the boy to topple onto him.

Sora scrambled to his knees, trying not to smother the man he had just met. Inside he wished he was intoxicated-he wish they were all intoxicated-just so that he could be able to kiss Riku and not be held accountable for his actions.

Riku and Sora sat on the floor in front of the futon. Their bodies were close but not touching. Hours passed in this same position. 9:30, 10:30, 11:00 The TV had a spell on the four males. They laughed until they cried.

As the midnight hour approached, Sora noticed a change in the appearance of his new friends. They were all asleep. Sora sighed and carefully removed Riku's head from his shoulder. He loved being close to the silveret, but Sora's previous nap was not making it hard for the boy to sit still. His legs didn't feel like supporting the boy. He held on to the wall for support as he climbed onto his bed. Under the covers laid his precious laptop.

The laptop was part of the reason Sora had made it to England. Without the boy using the device to check the status on his article fours months prior, he would have never overreacted and decide to leave the country. The screen illuminated as Sora opened the notebook. He decided to spend a few hours taking to old friends and playing mindless Internet games.

MSN and AIM started up like usual. Sora opened Mozilla and made tabs for his usual sites: Yahoo, Xanga, Myspace and Facebook. The boy became enthralled in his daily routine, checking mail, reading comments. He didn't notice the flashing dialog box at the bottom of his screen. After a few minutes, the flashing orange caught the brunet's eye.

"Hey." "How are you?" "You there?" "Guess not..."

It was Kairi. The girl that he left behind in a previous life. For some reason, his fingers moved at super speeds to reply to the girl.

"Hey sorry. I was checking my mail," he said. Nothing too person or revealing.

"Oh. How's England?"

"Great. It's cold and rainy, just like home. )"

"Well, that's what I would expect from England in January."

"Yeah..." and there went Sora's attention span. He clicked on Bejeweled and had a field day, checking every so often on his ims.

"Meet any new friends?" Kairi asked, really wanting to know if he had met any knew people who were more than friends.

"My roommate and his boyfriend are pretty cool. I met this guy named Riku. He's my RA," Sora typed. He wanted to tell someone about the beauty known as Riku, so he elaborated.

"Riku has long, silver hair. He's Japanese and English. We watching Family Guy tonight. I think I fell asleep on him for a while," he responded.

"Oh..I see what's going on," Kairi always did.

"What?"

"You like him."

"Maybe. We just met today..." Sora said. He wished he could see Kairi when she had typed to know if she was till caught up on him. Part of him missed Kairi and part of him wanted her back. Yet, no matter how many times he read 'you like him' he couldn't figure out what she really meant.

Let it be known, the Internet is not good for deep and insightful conversations.

"Doesn't matter when you met, you like him."

"Yeah.. I guess you're right. Is that bad?" Sora realized Kairi was an ex girlfriend, but she was also a best friend. He needed insight. Things were moving so quickly, and he had to stop and think.

"Well, how long was it before you and Selphie dated?" Kairi asked.

"...like three days."

"And you've always said that was one of your best relationships."

"That was different. I was 16 she was like 14, and it was band camp. Now, I'm 20. I shouldn't rush into things."

"You only have so much time there."

"You're right. You're always right." He starred at the screen. Back at senior year band camp he met Selphie. By the end of band camp he was dating Selphie. That relationship was wonderful...until Selphie ended it for no real reason. Sora sighed at his past.

"brb," he typed and hopped down from the bed. Now came the task of find a bathroom. Sora quietly exited the room.

Sora's jump off the bed wakened Riku. Sora didn't notice the man as he exited the room. Riku stood and stretched while glancing at his watch. 12:00 a.m.

"Wonderful," he muttered. The man noticed Sora's laptop was open. He leaned against the bed and glanced at the screen. He didn't know who Sora was talking to, but he agreed with the person. They only had a few months. Riku was attracted to Sora. The brunet was quiet, awkward and adorable. Now that Riku had confirmation about the other's feelings, it was time to kick it into gear.

Riku heard Sora stumbling down the hall. The man turned from the bed and waited for Sora's entrance. The door opened.

"Hey there," Riku said with a smile.

"Oh..did I wake you?" Sora asked.

"It's all good," Riku walked to Sora who was still standing by the entrance to the room. "I have to get going soon, anyway. I'm on duty from 1 to 5."

"Do people really need assistance at 2 am?" Sora said, taking a tiny step back. Riku had gotten very close to the boy.

"Only the drunk one's who lost their dorm keys," Riku smiled. "So...I'll see you tomorrow?"

Sora nodded, "Yes."

"I'll be by at noon. It's time for you to see the real Leicester," Riku said and exited the room. No goodbye. No wait for confirmation.

Sora stood by the door, dumbfounded.

"Do I have a date with Riku?"


	3. Chapter 3

I did a lot of research for this chapter. All the places really exist, although my details are off because I've never been there... I'm proud of myself. In exactly one year I will be able to see them for myself. Yay. I can't wait to study abroad…

Ok, this is obscenely short. I apologize. It was a bitch to write. It kinda sucks. Whatever, I'm over it. I also left it at a bit of a cliff hanger…Partly because I'm lazy, partly because I have no idea where I am going with this story. :P

Book 3 

**Chapter 1: This Time Imperfect**

If someone had walked into Sora and Roxas' dorm at that moment, the person would have seen countless hoodies, pairs of jeans and T-shirts thrown about the room. If that person were to turn to the left a very distraught and upset Sora would be found in a puddle on the floor.

"I have NOTHING to wear!" Sora pounded his fist on the ground.

Roxas, who had been attempting to ignore the nonsense pursing behind him, was reading online comics. "So, go naked," was all he had to say.

Sora let his body fall to the ground. "I can't do that! He's going to be here in 10 minutes looking perfect, and I'm going to be here, in a _green_ Kent State hoodie and torn jeans!" His hands hid his eyes. "This is a disaster."

After quite an impressive eye roll that could win awards, Roxas got up from the computer. He walked to his closet and pulled out a few shirts. "Here," he said as he handed Sora the undershirt and long-sleeved shirt. "Wear this with my brown hoodie behind the door. And didn't you get the messed? Torn jeans are so in."

Sora looked up at Roxas and met the blond's smile. "Thank you…" Sora pulled Roxas to the ground and into a hug. "I just want him to like me."

Roxas smiled as he patted Sora's back. "Sora," his hands pried the boy away from him. Their eyes met. "You're a nice boy. And he asked you remember? Now go and get dressed before he sees you blubbering all over me."

And so Roxas saved Sora from breaking down into tears. Sora had never really been on an actual date. The stress of getting ready had blocked out the fact that it was Riku who had asked him. As Sora was zipping up Roxas' hoodie, Riku knocked on the door.

A boy looked up to Roxas. He was scared but not alone. Roxas smiled. "You'll do fine. Now go! Before he gets away." Roxas watched as Sora exited the room. Riku was one of his close friends, and he knew that Sora was a good person. Part of him wanted the two of them to be happy together, and part of him knew this was moving too quickly.

There are consequences to those who do not wait. Time heals wounds and often perfects. Roxas knew this. He thought Riku wold know this. Still, the blond had his doubts.

Sora opened the door and Riku spoke, "Hey." Riku's arm gestured that Sora should take it, and he did.

"Hey," Sora said quietly. "Where are we going?"

Riku looked at the boy that was attached to his arm. He smiled down at Sora's adorable face. "Somewhere half as beautiful as you."

The sentiment made the brunet blush. It was a pick-up line, but even the dense Sora could sense the sincerity in the statement.

**Chapter 2: Out and About, When He Used to Go Out**

There wasn't snow on the ground, but it was pretty cold. Sora didn't care. He walked closely to Riku and took in the scenery. To the right was a lake. Despite it being January, a few swans swam on the surface. He looked up to Riku and took a bite of his muffin. "It's really pretty out here."

Riku's eyes smiled as he saw how cute Sora looked while eating. The way he shoved all the food to one side of his mouth while he spoke was simply adorable. "It's my favorite place to go when I just want a break. Students don't come here much."

"Well, I think this place is amazing," the boy shoved the rest of his muffin into his already full mouth, leaving a few crumbs to feed to the swans. Sora ran up to the lake and crouched down before the water. "It reminds me of parks back home, minus the history and stuff."

Riku sat beside Sora and took a piece out of his pocket to give to the boy. "Parks being over 100 years old tend to have a bit of history. I'm just glad whoever's in charge of Abbey Park added a café."

"Me too," Sora threw a chunk of bread into the lake.

The oldest of the pair studied the boy. He was something. The brunet was 20 and yet had so much to learn. Riku wondered if this could work. He wondered what would happen in a few months when they both went back home. He wondered if Sora would or could handle a long-distance relationship. And then Riku wondered why he was wondering so much.

Riku pulled Sora from the ground. They walked to a bandstand found on a hill a few acres back. Riku took Sora's hand and the sat on a bench. With Riku's free hand he pointed to a tree off in the distance. "See that over there?" he said.

"Yeah, why?" Sora looked at the tree inquisitively.

"That's where I had my friend real kiss with my first real boyfriend," Riku laid his head back. "His name was Kyle. Horrible name. Horrible kid, but he was a great kisser."

"My first kiss was this kid named Carla, but I lied about it," Sora kicked the dirt below the bench. "I said it was a girl named Mary. We dated for like a week in reality, but I lied to my friends and said we date for longer…She went to my church…" The boy stopped speaking and looked up as if he had told the darkest of secrets. "You know, I've never told anyone that before. Ever."

Riku removed his hand from Sora's and placed it around the boy's shoulders instead. "Why did you lie?"

"Umm…" he knew why, he just didn't really want to say. "I felt like a loser for being 15 and never been kissed…"

Riku tightened his grip on the boy's shoulders. He wanted Sora to know that he wouldn't judge him for his past. "It's ok. I'm just glad you trusted me enough to tell me."

There was a brief pause. It wasn't an awkward pause, more of a comforting pause. Sora was beginning to realize that it didn't matter how long he knew a person, it just matter how he felt while he was with the person. Never before had he told anyone about his fake relationship, but for some reason, he felt like he could tell Riku every little secret and Riku wouldn't think any less of him.

"And being 15 is nothing. I was 18 when I had my first kiss," Riku confessed.

Sora jerked out of Riku's arms. "You're lying," he said as he folded his arms and pouted. "I hate when people lie to me to make me feel better."

"And what have I done that would make you think I am lying?" Riku's eyes caught Sora's and the brunet was paralyzed.

"Well…uhh… nothing I guess," he blinked and the trance dissipated. "But look at you! You're beautiful!" Only after the words escaped his mouth did Sora realize what he had said. He opened his mouth to refute, but Riku held a finger to the boy's lips.

"When you're 'beautiful' as you put it, people are afraid to talk to you, so getting in a relationship is difficult. That, and I didn't like any of the boys back home," the silveret showed his dominance over the situation at hand and pulled Sora to his feet. Riku took Sora's hand, not once thinking about the short time they had known each other, and started walking.

As the two grew nearer to the tree where Riku had his first kiss, Sora grew nervous. With the relationship moving this fast there were so many things that Sora was not ready for that could potentially happen in just days. Sora didn't even know if they were actually _in_ a relationship.

Riku stopped Sora in front of the infamous tree. He brought the brunet into a hug. They stood there for a minute or two, enjoying the other's body heat.

"Are…are you going to kiss me?" Sora asked.

Riku shook his head and then immediately saw Sora's facial expression plummet. "Not here," Riku smiled hoping Sora would, too. "You deserve your own place and your own memory."

**Chapter 3: Afternoon Delight**

Sora noticed that Riku walked everywhere. He figured it was because Riku's car was probably in Japan, but then again, Riku had a nice body, not that Sora was staring or anything. Sora reasoned there was a reason for the walking and moved on to where they were walking. Riku had insisted they skip lunch and head to their next destination.

The two walked up to a white building with columns in the front. Sora looked up and saw the word "Museum" written across the front.

"New Walk Museum," Riku explained. "They have art work and a bunch of cool old stuff, and they have a café and a small stage area. It's everything I love in one building." He took Sora's had and entered the museum.

Riku could tell that Sora was a visual and hands-on person. He led the brunet to the children's section. There, the two messed with fossils and walked through a rainforest exhibit.

"Back home, at the Cleveland zoo, they have the most amazing rainforest ever," Sora made sure he didn't let go of Riku's hand as he took in the plants and fake animals. "They have real animals and everything, but then again, it kinda smells. Maybe fake animals are the way to go." He flashed Riku a smile and Riku laughed. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!"

"I can't help it," Riku said. "You're too damn cute." He brought Sora in close to his chest. The boy was a great deal shorter than he was. Sora's soft spikes tickled Riku's nose. "Want to see my favorite part of this place?"

Sora nodded and followed Riku down some stairs. Riku led Sora into a very square room filled with all sorts of artwork. Riku led Sora to what he deemed as the beginning of the exhibit.

Riku pointed as a landscape, "This was drawn by one of my professors. Everything in this room comes from England."

Sora nodded. Even though he loved being a kid, he enjoyed art and art history. It was sort of a secret passion for him. All his friends back home knew he enjoyed art, but they didn't know to what extent. "I like the use of foreshadow over there by the hills. Makes them look real."

"You like art?" Riku asked.

"Well, if you remember, I said I was changing my major to studio art," Sora stuck out his tongue.

"You said you wanted to draw manga, I didn't realize you actually _liked_ fine art," Riku shrugged.

"I do, quite a bit, actually," Sora looked at the next picture. "Like in this one, the artist made the eyes larger, probably to show that this girl had seen too much in her lifetime. Maybe what she has seen is tying her down, or something."

Riku was presently surprised by Sora's taste in artwork. He took Sora's hand and skipped a few pieces to one of a castle in a storm.

Sora gasped. A hand went to stroke the painting, but he knew better than to touch it. "This…this… I've seen this before."

"Really?" Riku looked at Sora and not the painting. "Where?"

"A dream, actually a few dreams," Sora said as he studied the painting. "I was standing over here, under that tree, and saw that light up there. It felt like it was shinning on me, like it wanted me to come in. Except there wasn't a storm and the house looked less surreal than this one…But I've definitely seen this mansion before."

"You couldn't have seen this place before," Riku said dryly.

Sora turned and face Riku. "You don't understand. I've been here. It was in my dream. This was the place," he spoke with a serious tone.

"Sora," Riku placed an arm on the boy's shoulder. "This is my house in Japan." He pointed to the lit window. "That is the room where my mother was murdered."

Sora didn't speak, he didn't breathe, he just stared at the picture. Sora knew it was the same house. He knew it. Then is sunk in, "Riku…" He turned and put his arms around the man.

"It's been three and a half years," Riku held the boy close to him. "She worked on CNN, well the Japan branch or whatever. She cracked a story on some drug ring, something stupid. The guy got out of jail, he killed her while dad picked me up from karate practice."

"That's why I've seen the house…and you…" Sora grew quiet once again.

Riku let his grip on Sora lighten. "The news, you're a journalist, or were…yeah I guess so. When you saw me, it must have triggered some memory or something," the man grabbed Sora's hand and turned to look at the painting.

"Riku…I had the first dream on the plane over here," Sora looked at the picture. There was silence, again. This time, it wasn't a good silence. Sora didn't understand why he was dreaming of the mansion, he didn't understand why Riku liked him, all he knew is that a beautiful human being was holding his hand.

"Maybe…it was a sign?..or something. No, that's dumb," Sora began rambling. "I mean, I don't know. Maybe I'm just crazy and it was a different house and—"

Riku kissed Sora. I could take the time to describe the kiss. I could go into every detail of said kiss to the point that would make each reader swoon, but instead, I'll talk about the _feeling_ that went into the kiss. That's what really matters, not the act, but how one feels about the act.

As their lips kept meeting, Sora temporarily lost all thoughts while Riku thought of the future. No doubt in the silveret's mind there would be many more kisses, but Riku knew they would one day stop. Even though the man lived in England during the school year, Japan was home. Sora had said he liked manga and wanted to learn Japanese, but would the boy be ok with Japan? When would it be ok to ask if Sora wanted to go to Japan?

Riku deepened the kiss.

Riku thought about how this was the beginning and he was thinking about the ending. He didn't want it to end, he just didn't see forever with Sora. Why didn't he see forever with Sora? He hardly knew Sora… Why continue kissing a boy that he knew would not be the one?

Sora finally regained thoughts. He thought about how great it felt to kiss Riku and how much he wanted Riku. He didn't know what he wanted from Riku, but he wanted it badly. For whatever reason, he was falling hard.

Kairi flashed into his mind, but quickly exited. The though had sent a weird flow through Sora's mind. That is, until he realized who he was still kissing. Sora smiled into the kiss. He thought about how he would love to be able to do this whenever he felt like. He thought about how badly he wanted this to work.

They both broke the kiss at the same time.

Riku smiled, "I like you."

"I like you, too," Sora snuggled his head onto Riku's chest.

And the two stood there, not boyfriends, but not just friends. They stood there as two confused boys who needed the other for some reason or another.

"We should probably get going before someone sees us making out in here," Riku laughed.

Sora nodded. His first kiss since Kairi. He loved every second of it.

**Chapter 4: Coming Back Down from This Cloud**

"He KISSED me!" Sora danced in from the hallway and twirled onto the futon. "Riku kissed me!"

"Well, hello to you, too," said someone who was definitely not Roxas.

Sora sat up and looked to Roxas' bed. There he found a very undressed Axel and a shirtless Roxas. "Oh God…," Sora said as he covered his eyes with a pillow.

"Don't worry, kid," Axel hopped down from the loft, still dressed from the waist down. "Now, if you would have came in 10 minutes later…," and a pillow hit Axel in the face.

"Don't listen to him," Roxas jumped down and eyed Axel. "Just because _he_ thinks he was going to get some doesn't mean it was going to actually happen." The blond put on a hoodie and sat beside Sora. "So, I hear Riku kissed you?"

The boy blushed. "Yes…'

"So, I'm taking it you two are an item or something then, right?" Axel asked as he grabbed a seat on a bowl-shaped chair.

"Well…actually," Sora stopped speaking. He wondered exactly what he and Riku were. Sure, they had kissed. But lots of people kissed. Riku didn't ask Sora out; actually, he never even told Sora that he liked him. Sora never had told Riku that he liked him, neither. The whole situation confused the boy. One day he's Riku the hot RA and the next, he's Riku, Sora's make-out partner. There never was a real middle ground. It kind of mad Sora uneasy to think that Riku had just assumed Sora liked him, but then again, what sane person wouldn't find Riku worthy of liking?

Sora snapped out of his confusion, "We're not together."

"Really now? That's interesting…" Axel commented.

Axel then changed subjects to soccer or something of its random equivalent. The whole Riku thing was so wonderful until Sora stopped to think about it. He had finally found someone he liked, really liked, but he knew basically nothing about him. Sora had _kissed_ someone he hardly knew. No matter how attractive someone could be, Sora should have waited. He should have waited until he knew for sure Riku was what he wanted and vice versa. Sora placed his head in his hands. Was kissing Riku a mistake?

Before Sora could further lament in his current situation, a knock came from behind the door. Roxas noticed Sora's state of being and decided to answer the door.

"Hey, Roxas. Sora around?" Riku asked. Roxas gestured the man into the room and pointed to the futon. The silveret sighed as he saw the boy who had curled himself into a ball. He poked the boy's shoulder. "Hey, Sora? You awake?"

Sora grunted. "Tired…jetlag…" he mumbled.

"Sora…" Riku kissed Sora's forehead. "Goodnight, then."

And Sora's eyes opened wide to the kiss. "Riku?" His voice was but a whisper.

"You're awake," Riku's eyes lit up. Sora nodded. "I was just wondering if you wanted to come to my room and watch TV or something."

An adorable sounding yawn came from Sora's lips. "Sure, but I'm not promising I'll stay awake for long."

The taller boy took the smaller's hand and lifted him from the bed. They walked out the door; Sora waved his roommate goodbye.

"So," Axel took Roxas' hands and led him to the futon. "Think they'll get together?"

"I think that Riku's decision. After, you know, he may not want to be with anyone else," Roxas placed his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"You're right," Axel placed a finger on Roxas' chin. "I kinda feel bad for Sora." Axel's face moved closer to Roxas', until their noses were almost touching.

"He's a good kid. Too bad he had to fall for Riku…" Roxas couldn't take being so close to Axel without touching. He took Axel's lips and forgot about Sora and Riku.


	4. Chapter 4

Hola. It's been a while. I figured out the rest of this story. Woot. Anyway, so football equals soccer in everywhere beside America, but I am sure you all know that. Yep, that's all I got. Enjoy. Shower scene! Um... yes.

**Book Four**

**Chapter 1: Tell Me Something**

Riku held Sora's hand as he lead the brunet down the hallway to his dorm. He held the door open for Sora.

"Where's your roommate?" Sora asked as he made his way to the only couch in the room. He fell onto the couch, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Don't have one," Riku said as he turned on a lamp. He positioned himself so Sora's head rested in his lap. "One of the perks of being an RA."

"MmHmm," Sora nodded and closed his eyes. He had class at 10 a.m. tomorrow and needed to be awake. He felt safe in Riku's lap. He nuzzled onto the Riku's leg as some random sitcom played in the background.

"Sora," Riku whispered as his hand grazed the boy's cheek. "Don't sleep yet."

The boy opened his eyes and looked into Riku's eyes, "Hmm?" He could feel the time difference weigh his eyelids down.

Riku smiled, "I want to date you, Sora." His words more of a statement than anything else.

"We just met...," Sora's words slurred together a little He did want to be with Riku, but they had only known each other for a few days.

"I know," Riku leaned down and kissed Sora's cheek. "But he don't have much time together. In a few months you'll go back to America and I'll be in Japan. Why don't we just use the time we have together to the fullest?"

Riku had made the point Kairi had stated a day ago. Sora knew he was right, just like she had been. "You're right," Sora turned to his side, facing the TV with his eyes close. "And I like you a lot."

"I like you too," Riku chuckled. He gave up trying to keep Sora awake. His arm tightened around the boy's waist, giving a sort of half-hug. "You're mine now."

**Chapter 2: Day One**

A crack of light landed on Sora's closed eyes, signaling that it was morning. He turned over and caught himself. Somehow he had made it back to this loft. The last thing he remember was Riku saying he liked him. Sora rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes and sat up.

"Morning, Sora," Roxas was awake, drinking some coffee at his desk.

"Morning," Sora yawned and jumped off his bed. He sat on the futon. "How did I get here?"

Roxas shrugged. "Axel left around one. You were here when I woke up. Riku probably carried you."

"Riku...," Sora whispered the name as he powered on his laptop. He smiled to himself knowing he finally had someone.

"So...," Roxas stood and appeared beside Sora. "What is going on between you two anyway?"

"I'm pretty sure he asked me out last night," Sora grinned at his roommate. "I don't remember much, but I'm almost positive we're dating now."

"Good, good," Roxas nodded. He grabbed his chair from his desk and sat by Sora. "Has he talked about Japan at all with you?"

"Umm," an IM dialog box appeared on his screen. Leon, wonderful, Sora thought. "Just that his mom was killed over there."

"Right," Roxas leaned back in his chair. "Nothing else?"

Sora's one-train-of-thought mind went to saying hello to his best friend. It had been days since they'd had any contact. A few seconds had passed before Sora even noticed Roxas had asked him a question. "No, nothing else. Should he have told me something else?"

"That's up to him," Roxas shrugged as he grabbed a bag. "I have class. Dinner at 6? You'll be able to meet Cloud."

"Sure thing," Sora waved goodbye and then went back to filling Leon in on his trip thus far. Mostly trying to figure out why Leon was online at this early, but the man wouldn't confess a thing to Sora.

Before the boy knew it, it was 20 till 11 a.m. And he had to get to class. He reluctantly said goodbye to Leon, who had to go as well, and grabbed the thickest hoodie he could find.

It was raining, or sleeting, or snowing outside. Sora couldn't decide which state of water was more prevalent in the clouds. He made his way along the path to his first class: Drawing 4.

Once inside the building it didn't take long to find his class. Sora opened the door to the classroom and scanned over the students, looking for anyone he may have recognized. When his sight failed, he grabbed a drawing horse and an eisle and sat in the back. Sora pulled out a pad of paper from his portfolio and placed it on the stand. It had been weeks since he'd drawn anything worth mentioning. He started to sketch a dark pair of eyes.

"Sora!" a familiar low voice called from the other side of the room.

Sora looked up from his drawing and spotted a tall man with shoulder-length brown hair walked toward him. Sora's eyes filled with excitement, "Leon!" Sora dropped his pencil and ran across the room, flinging his arms around his best friend.

"Why are you here?!" Sora asked, trying not to push Leon to the ground.

"Woah there," Leon said with a laugh, pushing Sora back onto his feet. "I'm studying abroad, too. Couldn't stand the thought of being away from you for so long." Leon ruffled the boy's spikes.

"But won't you miss graduation?" Sora suddenly remembered why Leon hadn't agreed to the England trip in the first place.

"Nope," Leon lead Sora back to his seat, grabbing his supplies on the way. "I'm going to graduate in the summer. Have to get an internship."

"Oh yeah..." Sora remembered. "So, where were you? I mean, you weren't on my plane or in my dorm."

"Since I signed up late, your plane was already full," Leon explained. "I just arrived this morning. I'm in your dorm. Same floor." Leon smiled slightly.

"Cool," Sora grinned. "I'm so glad you're here. You get to meet Riku!"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Is that the boy you were trying to tell me about this morning?"

"Yep," Sora grabbed his pencil and went back to sketching. "He's our RA. We're all going to dinner at six if you'd like to join."

"'Course," Leon nodded. "I need to meet these new friends of yours anyway."

Sora nodded.

"All right everyone. Welcome to Advanced Drawing 4," Sora assumed this middle-age man was his professor. He sat up and attempted to listen, but he wasn't. Sora was legitimately happy. Sora not only had the man of his dreams, but his best friend was here for the semester. Things were looking up, finally, after months of stupidity and unneeded depression. He let out a sigh of relief and started with his drawing exercises.

**Chapter 3: A little more conversation**

Five-and-a-half straight hours of classes is never a good idea. Sora was realizing this as he entered his room at 5:30, collapsing on his beloved futon. He was a bit surprised when his couch started talking to him.

"So, we're at this stage already?" Riku asked with a chuckle.

"Oh!" Sora quickly rolled to his side to make room for his boyfriend. "Sorry...just tired."

"No time to sleep," Riku said, kissing Sora's forehead.

"Can I nap...," Sora pleaded with big eyes. "Please?"

"Nope," Riku sat up, bringing Sora with him. "We changed times. Leaving now, love," his voice was smooth, like velvet. It seduced Sora out of his nap mode. He took Riku's hand and walked out the dorm.

"Guess what?" Sora finally found his vocal cords again.

"Hmm?" Riku turned his head and smiled.

"My best friend, Leon, is here!" Sora almost jumped. "He's meeting us for dinner."

"Mmhmm," Riku nodded, not the least bit surprised. "I saw the name and country on my list of residents. Sorry I didn't tell you; I thought you knew."

"It's OK," Sora said as they entered the crowded dining hall. "It was more of a surprise this way."

"OK," Riku stated. He lead Sora to the table, where a tall blond with spiked hair wearing all black sat. "Hey, Cloud. This is my boyfriend, Sora," Riku smiled at Sora.

"Hello," Cloud said with a nod, his face remained emotionless.

Sora smiled, said hello and left to find food and Leon. Right now, those were the most important things on his mind. He didn't want his friend getting lost and he desperately needed something in his stomach or he would implode.

Riku didn't follow Sora and instead took a seat and talked to Cloud. Sora went along grabbing some bread and soup. As he made his salad he glanced back at the table. Riku appeared to be having some form of an argument with Cloud. They both had serious faces and were talking at rapid speeds. Before Sora could go see what was happening, a hand turned the boy around.

"I've been calling your name for at least a minute," Leon said with a soft chuckle.

"Oh! Leon!" Sora gave his friend a brief hug. "Sorry, I was uh, I was looking at I mean..."

Leon pointed to the table Sora had just been staring at, "Let me guess, one of those two is Riku?"

Sora nodded and pulled Leon to the table. "Leon, this is Cloud and Riku," the last name said with a smile. "Roxas and Axel should be here soon," Sora took his seat next to Riku, leaving Leon next to Cloud. Sora finally looked at Riku's expression; the silveret wasn't pleased. "Something wrong, Riku?"

"Nothing new," he flashed a fake grin. "Don't worry about it." Riku kissed Sora's cheek while eying Cloud.

Cloud shook his head, remaining silent as he ate his fries.

Leon looked at Sora's blush and Cloud's sigh. Not too sure how to take the situation, he decided to changed subjects. "So Cloud, you don't look like you're from around here."

"Nope," he swallowed a fry and glared at Riku through dark steel eyes. "Grew up with Riku in Japan. We're sort of old best friends who know _all_ of each other's secrets." Cloud spoke in a quiet, serious voice.

"Same with Sora and I, except we grew up in Ohio," Leon ignored the tension, but didn't forget it.

"You never mentioned Cloud much," Sora looked at Riku as he took a drink of water.

"He probably hasn't told you much at all," Cloud muttered, looking directly at Sora.

"We'd better go," Riku stood at an alarming speed, grabbing Sora's hand in the process.

"But we just sat -- " Sora finally sensed the urgency in Riku's voice and actions and nodded. "Come by the dorm later," he said to Leon before he was dragged away by Riku, passing Axel and Roxas with just a wave.

"So, what the hell was that about?" Leon asked Cloud, his voice stern.

"Not my place to say," Cloud turned his head to look at Leon. He liked the scar on the man's forehead and how Leon looked pleasantly masculine.

"Should I worry?" Leon could tell Cloud knew more than he did. He could tell there was something Sora didn't know about Riku, something big.

"I would," Cloud shrugged as turned to greet Axel and Roxas. He introduced Leon in Sora's stead and then briefly explained the couple's absence.

After saying his greetings, Leon looked at his dinner, suddenly not hungry at all. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and finger and sighed. This was going to be one hell of a semester.

**Chapter 4:** **A little more touch me**

Sora couldn't get a serious word out of Riku the remainder of the night. And Riku had RA duty at 8, cutting whatever conversation the brunet was trying to get started with Riku short.

Leon and Roxas didn't prove to be much help either. They either claimed to not know what Sora was asking, or hiding it for his protection. Either way, it pissed the brunet off. Sora stomped off to bed at 11 p.m. despite the fact that he didn't have class on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

Sora didn't dream that night. He slipped in and out of long stretches of blackness, probably because he knew there was a problem. Despite Riku's assurance that everything was going to be OK, Sora couldn't shake Cloud's condescending tone. Those steal gray eyes telling Sora "He probably didn't tell you much at all." They made Sora shiver the next morning as he rose to take a shower.

The room was empty when Sora woke up. He wondered if he should have asked Roxas his schedule, or Leon, or anyone for that matter. He grabbed a towel, toiletries and a clean pair of boxers and ran off to the shower. No one was in the halls or bathrooms. Sora enjoyed the privacy. Public showers were one of the reasons he didn't want to live on campus at Kent State.

The hot water fell onto Sora's tan skin. He was always tan, even in the dead of winter. Shampoo filled his hair, but he still couldn't get the stubborn gel out. He sighed and gave up, enjoying the warmth of the shower for a few uninterrupted moments.

Then his thoughts shifted. He didn't know Riku. It had been four days since Sora had met him. It was probable that Cloud knew Riku better than Sora ever would, if they had really grown up together that is. So therefore, Cloud knew Riku the best. He knew whatever secrets the silveret refused to share. Sora thought about this for a moment and realized he was going about this situation the wrong way. He should try to talk to Cloud, if he could ever find Cloud.

Sora grunted a tad and washed off the soap suds. He considered banging his head against the shower wall but remembered the STDs that more than likely covered it. He stood facing the shower, reluctant to leave the stall. He could hear the bathroom door open. It didn't bother the boy. He was still deep in thought.

He didn't notice the footsteps getting closer to the stall; he was in a sort of trance.

"Sora?" a voice cut through the sound of water hitting the cold pavement. "That you in there?"

Sora turned around to face the closed door. "Um? Yes...who's there?"

The brunet could hear a quick laugh, "It's me, silly boy. Riku."

"Oh..," Sora then froze. Why was Riku standing in front of his shower? "Um, what's up?" Sora wasn't too skilled in the art of shower conversation.

"Not much," Riku answered. Sora could hear a shuffling outside his door, then something hit the floor. "Just going to take a shower. Done with class for the day." Sora gulped, but luckily he could hear the water turn on in the stall next to his.

"I don't have class," Sora strained to keep conversation light. This was not the place to pry.

"Plans later?"

"Not really. Probably hanging around the dorm with Roxas and Leon," Sora couldn't help his mind. A few seconds ago he had been a tad upset with Riku, and now the man stood, naked in the stall next to his. Sora blushed at the thought.

"I'll stop by after football practice," and Riku stopped speaking.

Sora listened to the water fall, trying to remember if Riku had mentioned football before. He had been done with his shower for about five minutes before Riku finally spoke again:

"Sora? Question..."

"Hmm?" Sora hummed.

"Um, it's OK if you don't want to answer but...," Riku paused as he tried to form a sentence. "How adverse would you be to me joining you in the shower?"

Sora froze. He didn't speak. The whole four days of knowing Riku idea fell through his mind and crashed on the floor with the water. Under Sora's mind laid the hormones of a 20-year-old who was now picturing his boyfriend. Naked.

"Ummm," Sora still didn't know how to answer the question. "Isn't it a bit soon for, you know..._that_."

"No, no, no," Sora could hear Riku laugh. "I don't want _that_. Just to...see you."

Sora gulped. That wasn't so bad, right? All his morals and prior thoughts seemed to vanish. "Ok," Sora stated, moving to the back of the stall.

Withing seconds, Sora could hear Riku's stall close and a soft knock on his own. His hand slowly opened the door, and he froze, again. Riku's silver hair was a dark gray that contrasted nicely against the man's pale, yet toned, upper body. Sora tried so hard to keep his eyes focused on Riku's upper half. He was relieved when Riku finally spoke.

"Can I come in? I don't think very many people would approve of me standing out here like this," Riku said, looking only at Sora's eyes.

"Oh yeah. Come in," Sora slid to the side. He stood, awkwardly, staring at Riku.

But Riku had other things in mind. "Can I touch you? Or is that going too far?"

"N-no.. Go ahead," Sora whispered.

Riku's hands moved to Sora's cheeks, his neck, his shoulders, his chest, his waist, every touch making Sora's body radiate heat. Sora tried to look into Riku's eyes, he had to move a piece of Riku's hair from in front of them. Finally, Riku pulled Sora against his chest and crashed his lips against the other's.

Sora's arms flung around Riku's neck and he opened his mouth instinctively. Sora was not inexperienced Not even in the shower. He had plenty of opportunities with Kairi in the past, although he technically was still a virgin with guys. Nevertheless, Sora's body pushed against Riku's.

Riku wasn't expecting Sora to react this way, but the feel of Sora's hips crashing into his own sent his mind into over drive. He pushed Sora against the wall and trailed his kisses from the boy's mouth to neck.

Sora gasped for air. It had been months since he'd felt anything resembling this. He could feel the warmth spread lower. Something in his head was trying to tell Sora to stop, to wait, but that voice was silenced by Riku's lips sucking on Sora's exposed skin. Sora's hands pulled on Eiku's hair; he was trying to keep himself quiet as Riku pushed once again into Sora's hips.

Riku's lips found Sora's again and his tongue glided over Sora's, experiencing Sora's mouth as his hands moved lower. Sora moaned breathlessly in to Riku's kisses, fully aware of the hand gliding down his back, his sides, then slowly approaching Sora's front.

Something snapped in Sora's head and he was back on earth, naked, in a shower with his boyfriend of 3 days. Sora's face whitened and before Riku could respond, off Sora went, grabbing a towel around his waist. He flew into his room and shut the door, panting for air, thanking God Roxas wasn't around. He slid his back against the wall, placing his head between his knees.

Riku stood in the shower, not sure what was going on. He figured he was going too far, but he couldn't stop himself. He didn't like that he couldn't stop himself. He muttered curse words and trudged off to his room, not even trying to talk to Sora about it. He doubted the brunet would want to talk to him anyway.

**Chapter 5: What in holy hell is happening?**

Sora remained on his top bunk the remainder of the day. He sat there waiting for Kairi to come online. For some reason, Leon wasn't in the dorm he said he was staying in and Sora needed someone, anyone, who really knew him. His eyes were growing heavy as the hours passed in silence. He suddenly remembered that Roxas had work tonight and wouldn't be back with Axel until after 9 or 10. He cursed and continued staring at his laptop as the sun set.

"Sora? I didn't see you at dinner," a knock came from the door. "It's me, Leon. Can I come in?"

"Yes, please," Sora's voice was so quiet, he was surprised when Leon actually opened the door.

Leon noticed Sora's zombie-like state and climbed onto his friend's bed. "Ok, something's wrong. Let's have it."

"It's...Riku," Sora closed his laptop and looked at Leon. "Things are...weird with him."

Leon wrapped a protective arm around Sora's shoulders, bring the boy close to him. Leon was two years older than Sora. He had started college a year late, taking the time to save money so he wouldn't have _that_ many student loans. Even now, Leon had more experience than Sora in almost every department, including stubborn 21-year-old boyfriends.

"How so?" he asked, wondering if Sora knew more than he did.

"Don't laugh, OK?" Once Leon nodded Sora began his story about the shower incident. He spared Leon the description of Riku's perfect body and instead focused one how he couldn't believe things had escalated so quickly. "...And I don't know! It's been 4 days! This isn't supposed to happen this way!" Sora folded his arms across his chest.

Leon laughed a little. "Sora, I don't know Riku very well, but I know you, and I know you're as much to blame in this situation as he is." Leon hugged his friend. "And I also know Riku has a few problems of his own. I don't know any details, but I know not to judge him too heavily."

"You're right...I should probably talk to Riku at some point... Wait, Cloud told you something, didn't he?" Sora huffed. He hated not knowing the whole story.

"Don't get upset," Leon rolled his eyes. "All he said was that he would worry about Riku if he were me. He didn't give any details, despite me bothering him yesterday and today."

Sora nodded. He knew Leon would never lie to him, then something about Leon's last statement finally sunk in. "You saw Cloud today?"

"Um, yeah...," it was hard to make Leon blush, but Sora had somehow managed. "He invited me to dinner tonight at this pizza place on campus."

"Aww," Sora teased. "Leon had a date."

"Oh shut up," Leon let go of Sora and pushed him against the wall.

"Nope. I want to hear everything," Sora stuck his tongue out. "Every last detail."

"Only if you promise to go see Riku after class tomorrow. He's pulling a double shift in the morning."

"You know I will," Sora nodded and sighed. "I don't know what it is about him, but I really do like him."

"Better than Kairi?" to Leon, that was all that mattered. Seeing that girl repeatedly hurt his best friend was not the highlight of his life.

"Much better," Sora couldn't hide his grin. "I'm not going to let one misunderstanding ruin everything."

"Good for you," Leon chuckled. "Maybe someone's finally growing up."

"Maybe.." Sora smiled and then commenced prodding Leon for details, glad to have his best friend here and not across the Atlantic.


	5. Chapter 5

Fun story... these chapters are going to be short. I apologize. This story just doesn't scream for uber long chapters. Oh well. This way I'll have more chapters out quicker. Um, yes.

Also, I edited the last chapter. It was horrid. I apologize again.

Um, yes. Riku's secret will be revealed very soon. Trying to get backstory down and what not.

**Book Five**

**Chapter 1: He said, endlessly**

Class went slow for Sora. Again he wasleft cursing himself for taking all his classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. As five o'clock grew closer, Sora could feel the long week end start to burn in his chest. He couldn't wait for spend his four days of freedom with Riku. If he still had Riku. Sora let out a long sigh as he looked at the clock. Four fourty-five. Fifteen minutes to freedom. His professor went on and on about famous dead artists while Sora was contemplating exactly what he should say to Riku. He didn't want to upset his boyfriend. But it seemed like no matter what he would do, he would upset the silveret.

Sora scribbled random thoughts in his notebook until he saw every one around him exiting the classroom. The brunet quickly gathered his things and rushed across campus to his dorm. After practically throwing his things in his room, not even noticing if Roxas was back from class or not, Sora ran down the hall to Riku's room. He stood outside the door, heaving in breaths of air. Running across campus was not a good idea. Before he could lift his hand to knock, the door opened.

"Sora?" said a very shirtless Riku. "What are you doing here?" Riku sounded more confused than anything else.

"Um, well," Sora's mind went blank. Probably because of Riku's lack of shirt. So, instead of speaking, Sora clung to Riku's bare chest. "I'm sorry for running off and not talking to you sooner. Don't hate me."

Riku's eyes widened before he sighed and wrapped his arms around Sora. "It's okay," he said as he patted the boy's back. "I'm sorry for putting us in such a compromising position."

"It was my fault, too," Sora said pulling slightly back so he could see Riku's face.

Riku nodded and smiled gently. "Then are we okay?" Riku loosened his grip on Sora's waist.

"As long as we take things a little slower, then yes, we're okay," Sora pulled Riku close to his body and placed his head on his boyfriend's chest.

"Don't worry, nothing like that will happen again," Riku reassured. They didn't move for a few moments, enjoying the other's body so close. "At least for a while, anyway," Riku said smirking down at Sora.

"Riku!" Sora squeaked with a blush. He then looked down to the floor. "So, why are you shirtless again?"

"Dunno," Riku shrugged as he finally managed to pull the brunet into his room and onto his bed. "I wasn't planning on anyone coming over."

Sora looked at Riku and noticed a tinge of sadness on the man's face. He wrapped his arms around Riku's side. "I couldn't stay mad at you forever," he murmured.

"That's good to know," Riku pulled Sora onto his lap, his arms around the other's waist. "So, what are your plans tonight?"

"Um, well, I planned for that whole conversation taking much longer than it actually did so...nothing?" Sora said looking up to Riku.

"Well," Riku began as his fingers made circle patterns on Sora's lower back. "We could watch movies or something until late-night."

Sora shivered as Riku's hands continued playing on his back. "What's late-night?"

"Oh yeah, keep forgetting you're new here," Riku kissed Sora's cheek. "The dinning room opens for a late meal a few times a week. All of us usally go and eat way too much ice cream."

Sora nodded some. All of us...did that mean? "So, will Cloud be there?" Sora asked innocently.

Riku's eyes squinted. He had to remind himself that Sora didn't know. "Probably. You should probably invite Leon," Riku said, trying to put a smile on his face.

"If Cloud's going to be there, odds are Leon will be there, too," Sora smiled. He was happy his friend had potentially found someone as well. "

"Right," Riku looked toward the TV. He didn't feel like discussing the Cloud situation any longer, considering he would probably get an ear full about it later that night. "So, about that movie."

"Yes, about that," Sora smiled as he clung to Riku's chest. "And about you finding a shirt."

Riku pulled away and rose an eyebrow. "Do you really want me to find a shirt?"

"Um, uhh...," Sora blushed.

"I'll take that as a no," he slid Sora off his lap and moved to the DVD player.

Once the movie started playing, Sora cuddled against Riku's side. He was very glad Leon told him to come talk to Riku. Things felt right when he was with Riku. Sora sighed a content sigh and continued watching the movie.

**Chapter 2: We meet again**

Sora clung to Riku's side as they entered the dinning hall. He didn't know why, but he felt like he never wanted to let go of the silveret. Everyone was already sitting at the table when they arrived. Sora quickly ran off to grab food and sit down before Riku. Even a few seconds alone with Cloud could be beneficial.

Sora sat across from the blond and down a seat. He figured Riku would be less likely to come back early if it appeared Sora wasn't talking with Cloud. He smiled. "Hey, Cloud," he said as he took a drink.

Cloud looked up for a second, muttered a "hi" and then went back to eating. Cloud tried his best to be as off putting as possible.

Sora gave a confused look and decided to brush off Cloud's actions. He figured Cloud probably thought Riku had talked bad about him or something. "So, you're good friends with Riku?" Sora said, trying to keep a pleasant expression.

"You could say that," Cloud looked around. Everyone was filling their trays. He wondered how safe it was to talk to Sora about anything Riku related. He kind of felt bad though, leaving Riku's boyfriend in the dark.

"Look, I want to be your friend and Riku's boyfriend at the same time," Sora spoke quickly, not sure how much time he had left. "Plus, you may or may not be dating my best friend." Sora looked from some approval from the blond. Cloud nodded and Sora continued. "You mentioned earlier that I probably didn't know much. What was that referring to?" Sora kept his voice low.

"I can't say much. I really think Riku should tell you," Cloud said. He noticed Sora wanted more of an explanation and rolled his eyes. "Whenever you get Riku alone, question him about his home life." He hoped Riku would pick up on the hint and actually talk to Sora.

Sora nodded as Axel and Roxas took seats at the table. Riku and Leon followed close behind. They looked as if they were actually holding a conversation. Sora took a mental note that he would have to ask about that at some later point.

"Quite a load of food you got there, Sora," Riku pointed out as he took a seat. He kissed Sora's cheek in the process.

"Mmhmm," Sora began shoveling food into his mouth.

"So, any plans this weekend?" Roxas asked, holding a fork pointed at Sora.

"Not really," Sora shrugged and swallowed. "I'm just excited to have four days off in a row. That never happens back home."

"Riku," Cloud looked up from his food. Surprisingly, his expression was quite pleasant. "Why don't you take Sora some place over the weekend. I'm sure he's never been anywhere besides here."

Riku shot Cloud an indiscernible look before answering. He looked to Cloud instead of Sora, "Could be fun." Riku then smiled down to Sora, successfully hiding his anger. "So, anywhere you'd like to go?"

"Um," Sora looked around the table. All of the sudden every one was looking at him. He wondered if he had missed something. "Well, I don't have a lot of extra money..." Sora took another bite and looked down at his food.

"No worries," Cloud chimed in with what appeared to be an evil smile. "Riku has more than enough money to take you anywhere you'd like to go."

Sora looked at the exchanged of glares that were being thrown around the table. The only person safe from the visual war was Axel, who was shoving his face full of fries and almost completely oblivious to the entire event. Riku, at first glared at Cloud. Then, after reading Cloud's eyes, he turned to Roxas. Roxas shot daggers back at Riku as Riku's eyes moved to Leon. They paused there for a moment before Riku shook his head.

"Yes, Sora. Anywhere you'd like to go," Riku's voice didn't exactly have a certain tone. Riku more or less gathered that if he was to be Sora's boyfriend, then he shouldn't upset the brunet's best friend. And based on the look Riku had just received from Leon, he had better take Sora on that damn trip.

Sora sat dumbfounded. He didn't know if Riku really wanted to take Sora away for the weekend or if this was some sort of screwed up setup. He decided on not answering for a moment to see what Riku would do. Sora acted like he was busy eating.

"Sora," Riku threw and arm around the brunet and brought the boy's ear to his lips. He spoke so no one could hear him. "I want to spend a weekend alone with you. Especially now." Riku broke his statement with a kiss to Sora's neck.

Sora looked up and saw the not-so-happy faces of his friends glaring back at the couple. He decided it would be best to get away for a while.

"Well, I have always wanted to go to Rome," Sora said halfway in a daze. Since when was dinner this intense?

"Rome it is then. We'll leave Thursday night. I have practice till six tomorrow," Riku smiled genuinely at Sora. Riku then looked up to glare at every one who was paying too much attention to Riku and the brunet.

**Chapter 3: Your methods are bull**

Sora held on to Riku's hand tightly. He stood in the same airport he had arrived at when he first got to England, and yet he felt a wave of anxiety fall over him. He had forgotten how much large crowds scared him.

"Everything ok, Sora-chan?" Riku said as he pulled Sora over to a row of airport seats.

"Chan?" Sora blinked a few times. "Since when am I Sora-chan?"

"Since now," Riku said, throwing an arm around Sora's shoulders. "But you didn't answer my question."

"I'm all right," Sora said without emotion. "Just kinda of nervous." He shrugged. Sora laid his head of Riku's shoulder. It felt good to be in his arms, despite that it had been less than a week since they had met.

"You flew over the Atlantic by yourself and you're nervous about flying to Italy?" Riku couldn't help but chuckle. "You astound me, Sora."

"It's not the flight," Sora shook his head and sighed. "Cloud said I should ask you about your home life." Sora wasn't sure if he should mention Cloud or just ask about Riku's life in Japan. He reasoned that by mentioning Riku's long-time friend, the silveret would understand exactly what Sora was asking.

"You know, you didn't have to ask Cloud," Riku sighed, looking directly at Sora. "You can ask me anything and I'll tell you. That's one of the building blocks of a relationship: trust."

Sora blushed. He should have figured Riku would react that way. Riku _was_ perfect after all. "Are you upset with me? I didn't mean to make you upset. I just felt like there was something there and I didn't want to ask you because I didn't know how you would react and I just want to know more about you and I like you a lot and I don't want you to me mad at me – "

"Shh," Riku held a finger to Sora's lips. He smirked. "I understand. It's hard to ask people things that may end poorly. But please understand, I like you too, Sora, and I will not be upset with you just because you want to know about my home life."

Sora nodded. He felt incredibly stupid. It made him think about Kairi and the way he had acted with her. Kairi started getting mixed up in a really bad crowd. He couldn't take Kairi's word for it and decided to check out the situation himself. He asked a few of Kairi's new friends if she was doing anything illegal. The only real difference was that Kairi was lying to Sora. So far, Riku hadn't exactly lied. Just omitted some truths – both very different things. Sora figured it was a hard topic for his boyfriend to talk about.

"But I would much rather discuss this after our weekend," Riku interrupted Sora's thoughts. "I don't want anything to bring us down."

"So, it's a sad story I gather?" Sora concluded. He figured it had something to do with Riku's mother's death and also figured it would put a damper on their outing.

"Something like that," Riku managed a fake grin. He couldn't have Sora worrying over what Riku thought of as trivial."Looks like they're loading our plane. It's a couple hour flight. Might as well rest." Riku was trying to get out of this conversation. He had planned to talk to Sora about it on Monday. Not today. He wanted a few more days to show Sora who he was and not who he was meant to be.

"Good idea. Roxas and Axel woke me up early for breakfast and then Axel found it necessary to stay over and be Axel for a few hours," Sora laughed a little.

"Oh, Axel being Axel," Riku chuckled and eyed Sora. "That's never a good situation."

"Nope," Sora grinned and took his boyfriend's hand as he stood.

So far everything was ok. Sora genuinely liked his boyfriend and had gotten over their shower mishap. He could see himself with Riku. They had great chemistry together and hardly had to try to make things work. Even if they didn't know everything about each other, Sora thought that they knew enough and the rest would be filled in where it needed to be.

**Chapter 4: I make plans to break plans**

"I love Rome!" Sora exclaimed as he spun onto his and Riku's bed. The hotel had given them on king-sized bed and an amazing view of the city. The hotel had also given the couple a rather nice mini-bar, which Sora had decided was a good idea.

Riku laughed as he sat next to his boyfriend. "You shouldn't drink too much now," Riku pulled Sora onto his lap. "We're going out for pasta later and there will be wine."

"Oh yeah! Pasta," Sora nodded finally understanding. He grinned and rested his head on Riku's chest.

The flight had been uneventful and consisted mostly of sleeping. Sora's mind wandered away from prying into Riku's life...eventually. By the time they had arrived in Rome on Thursday, it was night. Riku took Sora to a small pub for a few drinks and then they walked around for a bit before sleeping. So far, the couple had seen the Collusiem and been to two small museums in the few short hours they had been awake.

"Can we go shopping or something? I want to spend as much time in the city as possible," Sora tried to think of all the places in Rome he had to see. It was already mid-afternoon on Friday. That only left two days until they headed back to England.

"Sora, you know we can come back here whenever we want. We don't have to do everything this weekend," Riku squeezed Sora's waist. "We could always relax here for a while and take a swim in the pool they have here."

"Oh yeah, you're loaded. I forgot," Sora pouted. The brunet had to get used to not worrying about money. He didn't like when people spent money on him. He was very used to being the boy in the relationship. Riku promised Sora earlier that he would take his boyfriend around Europe. Riku wanted Sora to see everything. Riku could tell the brunet loved to travel and assured his boyfriend that money was not a problem.

"Don't make it sound like a bad thing," Riku looked at Sora with a puzzled face. He never met someone who didn't like gifts as much as Sora. "Just gives us more flexibility."

Sora nodded. "So about that swimming?" Sora moved to his side and looked at his boyfriend. He was suddenly quite eager to see Riku shirtless.

"Yes," Riku smiled. "I'll go change."

Riku grabbed his duffel bag and went off to the bathroom. Sora sat up on the bed and looked out the window. Rome was quite the city. The brunet momentarily felt bad for not being here with his best friend Leon. Sora had always wanted to travel with his older friend. They two often talked about it throughout college. Sora then debated asking Riku if Leon and possibly Cloud could come along at some point, but dismissed that idea quickly. He still hadn't the slightest idea as to why there was tension between Cloud and Riku and decided that a weekend with the two in the same room may be a bad idea.

Sora sighed and rose from the bed. He walked to the window and was about to slip back into thoughts of home when Riku's cell went off on their night stand. "Riku! Your phone's ringing!" Sora called to the bathroom. He looked at the caller ID and didn't recognize the number.

"Answer it. I'll be out in a second," Riku said from the bathroom as he finished combing his hair and pulling it into a low pony tail.

"Kay," Sora flipped open the phone. "Hello," he answered. "This is Sora. Riku will be right back."

"Well, hello Sora," an unknown male's voice said from the other line. "I don't believe I know who you are. I'm Riku's father, Sephiroth."

"Oh..," Sora froze for a moment. This could be awkward or bad or both. "I'm Riku's friend from college. I just started at Leicester this semester." Sora didn't know whether he should say he was Riku's boyfriend or not. He stared at the ground nervously, gingerly holding the phone in his thumb and pointer-finger.

"Oh, yes. You're the one from the States," Sephiroth said with understanding. He voice shifted to something a tad more formal. "Where is Riku?"

"Changing," Sora answered. "We're going swimming. He's in the bathroom," he clarified. The last thing Sora wanted was for his boyfriend's father to think Riku was stripping in front of him.

"Right, right," Sephiroth said.

At that moment, Riku entered from the bathroom. "Who is it?" he asked as he fished in his duffel bag for a towel.

"Your father," Sora held out to phone, eager to stop the conversation with his boyfriend's parent.

Riku's eyes widened as he started to think about all the possible reasons why Sephiroth would be calling him. He took the phone and held it to his ear. "Hello, father," he said.

"Hello, Riku," Sephiroth greeted. "Seems like you and your _friend_ Sora are spending a lot of time together."

Riku decided it would be best if Sora didn't hear this conversation. He switched to Japanese, hoping Sora wouldn't understand too much, "He's not just my friend, father. We've been dating for a week now."

Sora looked up at Riku. His boyfriend's expression was hard and Sora wondered why he had switched languages. Sora grabbed his trunks, but decided to stay and see if he could understand anything.

"That's interesting," Sephiroth switched to Japanese as well, it being his primary language and all. But he did note how Riku changed languages so quickly. "And when were you planning on announcing this to _all_ of us back home?"

"I didn't realize I needed to tell everyone who I was dating," Riku's voice lowered. He could feel a tad bit of anger boiling in his stomach. He didn't want to discuss this, ever, let alone in front of Sora on their weekend together.

"You know as well as I do that there is at least one person you should share this information with and I will see that they are informed," Sephiroth said in an even, almost threatening tone.

"Stop it," Riku closed his eyes. He didn't feel like seeing if Sora was understanding his conversation. "I will tell in due time. We've only just started dating. I don't want to jump to conclusions or anything."

"I see," Riku's father answered. "Regardless, I just wanted to let you know we will _all_ be attending family week at Leicester at the end of next month."

"I assumed as much. And I also assume that you would want me to announce this news by then?" Riku opened his eyes. He could see Sora staring at his lips, trying to decipher the words. He decided on ending this conversation as soon as possible.

"Of course, Riku," Sephiroth smiled on the other end. "Please don't disappoint me."

"Right. Well I have to go. Sora and I have plans. Tell grandmother I send my love. Goodbye," Riku didn't wait for a response and closed his phone. He tossed the object onto the bed. "Sorry about that," Riku said, glancing at Sora who appeared to be a little upset.

"It's ok. You've just reminded me that I haven't talked to my family in almost a week," Sora smiled and walked to where Riku stood. "Why did you switch to Japanese?"

"It's my dad's first language," Riku said, hoping that would be enough.

"Oh, ok," Sora gave a nod, knowing in the back of his mind there was more reasoning than that. "Is everything ok? You seemed a little upset and I heard you say 'Stop it.'"

"He was confirming plans to come up for family week next month. And was going on about us dating," Riku said, once again, omitting certain truths.

"You told him?" Sora's face shot up. "Is he ok? Does he hate you?"

"You really don't understand Japanese that well, do you?" Riku laughed and brought Sora in for a hug. "He's fine. He's known about me for a while, just worried like any father, I suppose."

"That's good, I suppose," Sora looked down at the trunks in his hand. "I should get dressed if we're still planning on swimming."

"I didn't strip down to this for nothing," Riku smiled and pushed Sora back slightly. "Get dressed."

"Kay," Sora walked off to the bathroom and shut the door. He stood silent for a moment and looked absently at the mirror. He understood a few more words Riku had said, something about not wanting to jump and only starting dating. Sora sighed. He hoped everything was all right between Riku and his father.

Sora pulled on his trunks and put on a smile. He shouldn't let Riku see him down. Besides, he was here to have fun with Riku. And the silveret had promised to talk to Sora after their mini vacation, no need to press the matter now.


End file.
